04.04.2012                      12.Nissan. 5772

Feature:

Georgia's new ambassador to Israel bears a heavy cross

Georgia's youthful new delegate to Israel aims to restore both good relations and a hold on an ancient Jerusalem monastery.

The new Georgian ambassador to Israel, Archil (Abesalom ) Kekelia, may well be the youngest member of the diplomatic corps in Israel. He is only 32 years old, but last week he submitted his bona fides to President Shimon Peres. Despite his age his country's president gave him an assignment of historic dimensions – to repossess for Georgia the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem, after it was lost over 300 years ago to the Greek Orthodox Church….